Koppai

Koppai

Koppai served on a plēṭa
Type	Ice cream
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Kotowari
Region or state	Central Orient
Associated national cuisine	Kotowari, Mahana, Mekabiri
Main ingredients	Milk, sugar

Koppai is a frozen dairy dessert originating in Central Orient from the 16th century. It is often described as "traditional Oriental ice cream" for it's popularity historically and into present day. Koppai is a traditional sweet of the Oriental subcontinent, where it is commonly sold by street vendors or by markets. It is popular in Kotowari, Mahana, Tamurin, Orioni, Qubdi as well as much of former Orinese colonial territory such as the Bainbridge Islands and Burkini. It is also part of the national cuisines of Kotowari, Mahana and Mekabiri.

Koppai is much denser and creamier than usual ice cream. It comes in many flavours, with the traditional flavours including rose, paan, mango, safron and chilli oil. Modern popular flavours include apple, strawberry, peanut and orange. Unlike ice cream, koppai is not whipped, resulting in a solid, dense dessert similar to frozen custard. Thus, it is sometimes considered a distinct category of frozen dairy-based dessert. The density of koppai causes it to melt more slowly than ice cream, making it ideal for the warm countries which it is most popular.

Name

The word koppai originates from the Bankran peninsula, where the dessert originates, and means "covered cup" in Ramil.

History

The dessert is believed to have first originated in the Bankran peninsula of Kotowari in the 16th century.

Gallery

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  Saffron- and mango-flavoured koppai

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  Koppai with strawberry sauce

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  Pistachio-, vanilla-, and rose-flavoured koppai

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  Koppai with falooda (vermicelli noodles)

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  A vendor selling koppai in Mekabiri